Silence in the Night
by amber-1134
Summary: And Suddenly I realized silence was the loudest thing I'd ever heard. Marco story. Slash. Don't like it, don't read it.
1. Silence in the Night

A/N: Read and Review please. Hope you like it.

Note:: A bit angsty and tradegy-ish kind of, so don't read it if you can't handle some jumpy scary-ish things.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Degrassi characters.

Summary: And Suddenly I realized silence was the loudest thing I'd ever heard. Marco story. Slash. Don't like it, don't read it.

--

I knew that my sexuality was always going to be an issue. In school, in the community, in the workplace. I had never doubted it to be a problem; but I had never even dreamed that it would be fatal.

It was the day I had been playing man hunt in the Michaelchuk's backyard. It was late, I don't exactly remember what time, but the outdoors were filled with crickets chirping and twigs snapping as people raced into the trees to hide. It wasn't pitch black, but you could only see about 5 feet away, and past that it was faded outlines of people and bushes. It was me, Dylan of course, Paige, Hazel, Spinner, and Jimmy playing. Dylan, Spinner, and Jimmy against Me, Hazel, and Paige. It was our turn to hide.

I raced behind Paige into the dense forest behind her house as Dylan's strong voice counted down from 20. "18, 17, 16..." I heard Paige giggle and run off to one side with Hazel, as I blindly made my way deeper into the trees. I rested at a tree, slowing squatting until I was sitting on the cold bare ground. I heard a few bugs make noises around me, and a leaf rustle somewhere to my left. I was silent and heard the yell of "1."

The hunt had begun.

I could hear Paige and Hazel whispering a far distance ahead of me, and held my breath as I heard footsteps pound the grass outside of the trees, someone approaching. Then there was silence again. Paige giggled quietly.

"They're in here!" I heard what sounded like Spinner's voice call. Twigs started snapping and leaves started getting pushed aside as Spinner made his way through the first clump of trees.

I could also hear Paige and Hazel squirming around, trying to move out of the path that Spinner would walk straight through. I heard Dylan's voice, "All of them?"

"Yeah!" Spinner called, moving faster through the trees. He nearly brushed against Paige's hair but stopped walking at the last minute. He turned and whispered, "Wait... shh..."

I couldn't hear anything, only the pounding of my own heart and Spinner's hushed words. No longer did Dylan walk into the forest or Paige and Hazel talk. The crickets had been silenced, and I was suddenly scared. I could feel someone... near. Not Paige, not Hazel, not Spinner. Someone... bad.

And almost as if he had read my mind, Spinner suddenly whispered, in what sounded like the most scared I've ever heard Spinner, "There's someone else in this forest... besides the other team."

Even though this statement was most likely directed at Dylan, I felt he was talking to me too. I could also feel it... someone...something else. I pulled my legs in tight to my chest and buried my face into my ripped jeans, clamping my eyes shut and trying to escape to an imaginary world. Everything felt real. Way too real.

And then I heard it.

A branch behind me snapped. That's when I knew something wasn't right, that something was very very wrong. No one was behind me, I had gone further into the forest than Paige and Hazel, and Spinner had only made it to where Paige was. Dylan hadn't even entered the forest. I knew. I had been listening. Fear overcame me as I sat there, trying to be as still as possible and pray it was only a squirrel or a bird.

_'Squirrels and birds don't have enough weight to be able to break branches,'_ I thought, and all of the sudden I was deathly frightened again.

_'Marco, calm down,' _a voice inside told me, _'You're probably overreacting. It could be Jimmy playing a joke on you. Or some kid who was playing a similar game in a yard nearby.'_

Then the barrel of a gun was placed against the small of my back and I knew this was no joke, no little kid playing hide and go seek. This was life or death.

"Make one move," An unrecognizable male voice whispered cruelly into my ear, "I pull the trigger. Make one sound, I pull it. Got it?"

I nodded slightly, enough for him to see I understood, but not so much as to make him uncertain about what I was going to do next. I felt tears burn at my eyes, but I convinced myself they would not fall. I would not cry. I could handle this... my dad had always told me to be strong and manly, and that I was going to be. I couldn't let him down, especially since I was gay. I knew this fact would make me even more feminine in his eyes, so I was determined to be as strong and manly as I was taught to be. I felt the barrel dig into my back and I stiffened, biting my tongue to keep me from yelling.

"Hey, is everyone alright?" I heard Spinner call. Paige and Hazel soon revealed that they were next to him and that they were fine.

"Where's Marco?" I heard Dylan's voice come into the picture as footsteps moved through the leaves on the ground.

The barrel pushed harder into my back, as if warning me to not utter a word about my whereabouts or make any noise at all. I kept my mouth clamped shut, although I didn't know why I hadn't yelled. I didn't even know who this guy was; and what would he want with me? I'm a straight A student, nothing has ever brushed my permanent record, and I've never seriously hurt anyone. Then I remembered...

_Another fist pounded down onto my left shoulder and I rolled over, wincing in pain. "Stop...please...I'm sorry...I'm not gay... Stop... I'm not..."_

_I felt someone kick into my side, and evil laughter fill the small area I was laying. They kicked again in the same spot, making me cry out in sheer pain. I clutched my side as they pulled my chest up and shoved me back down on the ground. "I'm sorry!" I sobbed, pain slicing though my body. "Stop! Please!"_

_I heard the wail of sirens and mutters of a few of the boys as they raced off and a woman in a police suit come over to me. "I didn't do anything," I defended, tears still flowing down my cheeks, "I didn't do anything!"_

It was because I was gay.

Because I liked the same sex, this man was threatening to kill me. Kill me... take my life. I couldn't imagine something so horrifying and awful. It was all so simple. The icyness of his tone as he whispered into my ear, the apathetic way he shoved a gun to my back. I had done nothing, so this was the only explanation that made any sense. He wouldn't just want my life for no reason... there was nothing in it for him.

I heard Paige yell my name. I sat in silence. I had no option but this, because if the man was loathing enough to threaten to kill me, I had no doubt that he actually would.

Everything had happened in a blur. One moment; a simple game of hide-and-go-seek in the dark. The next minute, my life is layed out before me. I felt like it had been only minutes since we had divided into teams in the Michaelchuk's backyard. I couldn't really see the full picture, I could only see that if I did anything; moved, breathed, sneezed; I was gone...or atleast in a hospital bed. I felt a tear slide down my cheek and I no longer cared.

"He probably hid somewhere else..." Even though the words had escaped Paige's lips, she had still said it without any real hope that I wasn't in the forest.

"Yeah, why wouldn't he come out if we called him?" Dylan reasoned, "We can come back if we can't find him."

"Yeah..." The gang murmered and seemed to agree that I wasn't in there. If only they knew....

I vaguely saw the silhouettes of them as they started walking together out of the forest. I knew that the Michaelchuck's backyard was huge, and it would take them at least half an hour to search every place I could have hidden. By then, I could be dead, buried in this dense forest without a hint of where I'd gone. There would be no hope left... It was now or never.

I saw a figure turn, Dylan most likely, and I thought he looked straight at me. He continued to skim the forest though and he stopped. I thought I could see him closing his eyes.

"No."

The movement of the rest of the group moving through the forest stopped as they turned around. "What's wrong?" Hazel asked.

"No. He's here," Dylan said, as if he could feel me right next to him. He said it with such confidence I wasn't sure if he did actually meet eyes with me or not.

"Dylan how do you know? I mean... you can't have seen him, right? Do you know where he is?"

"He's in the forest," Dylan repeated, sounding 100 sure. He moved closer towards me.

_'Please,'_ I prayed, _'Let him see me. Let him see me here and let him save me. Please!'_

I felt the gun dig into my back and as Dylan made noises moving across the ground, and the man whispered, "Like I said: say anything, and your friends won't see you in one peice ever again."

"Marco please! If this is a joke stop it now!" Paige exclaimed, looking wildly around the forest. "I'm not kidding! Joke's over! Come out now!"

Dylan stopped mere inches away from my right hand. I could easily reach out and touch his foot, but I knew that would surely make me dead meat. How could he not see me!? There was even another person behind me! I stayed silent though, seeing the outline of those blonde curls.

"Yeah..." Dylan said shakily, slowly observing the trees around him, "Marco, if this is a joke, quit it. Paige is right."

_'It's not a joke!!' _I wanted to scream, _'Help me!'_

I didn't understand why he wasn't looking down. If he would just glance down he would come in eye contact with me and possibly the masked man behind me. Then I would be safe... well until I was shot. But then atleast Dylan would be the last thing I saw before I passed on... and that was the most beautiful goodbye picture. Even if he was enclosed in darkness.

I couldn't hold it in any longer. I needed to get help. I wasn't going to sit here and let this man make me ashamed of who I was. So, without actually thinking it through fully, I rolled to the side and screamed as loud as I could.

I heard the shot go off, and there was a mere millisecond where I felt the world enclose around me. Not a sound echoed in my ears...

And Suddenly I realized silence was the loudest thing I'd ever heard.

--

A/N: Ack, I might continue if I end up liking this. I wrote this when I was extremely bored, and I'm sure it sucks. I haven't gotten it betaed either, so sorry for mistakes. I tried my best.


	2. Dreaming of Reality

A/N: Welllll, thanks for the reviews. I read over it a few times and I still don't understand why people liked it. Honestly. Oh well, sigh, here's Chapter 2. I highly doubt this will be any good since I have no inspiration and am only writing because nothing else seems more appealing at the moment. Sorry if it's bad. Really I am.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Degrassi characters or settings.

Chapter 2: Dreaming of Reality

**Silence in the Night**

_And Suddenly I realized silence was the loudest thing I'd ever heard. Marco story. Slash. Don't like it, don't read it._

**by: amber1134**

I felt the wind encircle me like an awful hurricane at shore, threatening to rip everything apart in just moments. I was sitting alone in a feild, a few daffodils and sunflowers popping up randomly through out the dense grass. I was alone, I knew that much. I could only see to the edge of the feild, where a forest lay. It was unrecognizable, dark leaves growing across long sturdy branches rooting from tall, thick trees that were firmly packed into the ground. The forest at the Michaelchuk's was different. The trees were more scattered and sparse, with a light sort of lime greenish glow to the leaves, so I knew I was far from home. However, I had abosolutely no idea where I was. I could be far away from the game of Man Hunt, the shot of the gun not peircing me but yet inserting into someone else's flesh. Or I could have been knocked unconcious by a rock or branch I might have hit my head on, and I was dragged by the masked man somewhere very far away. I could also be dreaming; but the possibility didn't seem likely to me. I felt very alive, very real, and the grass surrounding me felt real and damp to the touch.

I stood slowly, carefully searching my body for signs of bruising or broken bones. My head showed no sign of a concussion, and a bullet hadn't seemed to enter my skin any place I was aware of. Overall, I felt fine. Not a single thing wrong, except for maybe a scratch or two on my leg from running past bushes into the forest the other night. Nothing wrong... but yet something had knocked me unconcious.

I shrugged away the thought, thinking maybe the shock of the bullet made me faint and that I actually hadn't been in a bad condition. I turned around, studying my surroundings. I was, in fact, alone. Not a sound nearby, which came as a surprise to me because usually the chirps of birds and ruffle of squirrels hopping through leaves made me so happy of the outdoors. And yet not a single sound came from anywhere...

I shrugged again and walked forward, heading straight for the forest that lie ahead of me. I might as well do some exploration of the place I was in. I stepped onto the ground of the forest, trees immediately surrounding me on all sides. I saw a narrow path over to my left that I got on and walked through for a while, until I heard a noise over to my right. I stopped for a second as a voice spoke in a hushed tone to someone else. The voice was distinctly familiar... the kind I would recognize immeadiately if someone had called me or said "Hi" from behind. I listened again, intently, trying to see if the person would talk again.

"Over here!" came a hushed giggle, and at once I knew who the voice belonged to.

"Paige..." I whispered. I suddenly realized I wasn't alone, and I was around people. What was Paige doing in this random forest in the middle of the day though?

I stepped through a small group of trees and found myself in a small opening. I was suddenly back in the Michaelchuk's forest. I blinked and looked around slowly. Paige was wearing the same clothes she had worn the night before... and Hazel was crouched next to her, also wearing the same blouse and pink jeans as the day before. I was very very confused. I looked over to my left, away from Paige and Hazel, a few inches to the left of me...

And saw myself.

I gasped and let out a small scream, but not loud enough for them to hear. I didn't think they could hear me anyway, but I was going to be cautious just in case. What would it do to a person if they saw themself?

I saw the other me blindly sit down almost on top of a bush, although I had no idea why I wasn't watching where I was sitting. My eyes were wide open, but I was acting blind and feeling the ground around me.

The second me squatted against the trunk of an old Maple tree it looked like, and sat there in silence. I heard Paige giggle again and she murmered something to Hazel.

_Just like the night before._

Spinner's voice came into the picture, just as it had last night, pouring out the fearful words again. Dylan entered the picture also, appearing at the other end of the forest. I heard Spinner repeat the same thing, but the words didn't fully enter my ears. I had heard, but not listened.

I suddenly realized I was in the past... I was seeing the whole thing happen again, except this time I was on the outside looking in instead of the other way around. I heard a branch crunch to my right, almost equal to where I was standing, and I saw a man... I saw _him._

I gasped and yelled subconciously, but it made no difference. The man didn't even flinch. Neither did Paige or Hazel or even the other me. They all sat dead still, and I watched what I had done. I curled my legs into my chest. I remembered the fear that seeped through my head...

_A branch behind me snapped. That's when I knew something wasn't right, that something was very very wrong. No one was behind me, I had gone further into the forest than Paige and Hazel, and Spinner had only made it to where Paige was. Dylan hadn't even entered the forest. I knew. I had been listening. Fear overcame me as I sat there, trying to be as still as possible and pray it was only a squirrel or a bird...._

I suddenly felt horror absorb into me again, even though I was perfectly safe and merely an onlooker on the situation. I gasped again and put my hand to my mouth, seeing the man squat down behind me.

I could clearly see him, for the sun was still shining where I was. I didn't know why I had been placed in the situation again, much less why I was in broad daylight. I watched the man pull the gun silently out of his pocket and hold it against my back. I saw lips move behind the cut in the ski mask, whispering the words into my ear...

_"Make one move," An unrecognizable male voice whispered cruelly into my ear, "I pull the trigger. Make one sound, I pull it. Got it?"_

I watched the whole situation silently, empty of words that would express my emotion. Spinner called out the identical words, "Hey, is everyone alright?"

I observed Hazel and Paige standing up, Paige blindly hooking herself to Spinner's arm. Dylan traveled farther into the forest, asking yet again, "Where's Marco?"

I glanced back over at the man and the other me, and just as I had predicted, the gun was being pushed farther into my back. I watched the other Marco flinch and close his eyes tight. I imagined at this point I was having the memory of the beating come to me, the reality of it boring deep beyond my skin and leaving an emotional wound forever more. I saw my eyes open and a tear run down my cheek as Paige yelled my name.

"Marco!!"

A pause and then the same...

_"He probably hid somewhere else..." Even though the words had escaped Paige's lips, she had still said it without any real hope that I wasn't in the forest._

_"Yeah, why wouldn't he come out if we called him?" Dylan reasoned, "We can come back if we can't find him."_

_"Yeah..." The gang murmered and seemed to agree that I wasn't in there. If only they knew...._

They started to turn and walk slowly out of the forest. I couldn't help it anymore. "NO!!!" I yelled, "DON'T LEAVE! I'M RIGHT HERE!" I screamed it at the top of my lungs, not caring now if the man had heard or even if the other me had heard. Apparently neither one had, because neither moved a muscle...

Except Dylan.

I saw him turn and look around the forest, as if searching intently for a sound... Had he heard me? Had he really heard me? Was that even possible? I clutched a tree next to me, begging for him to turn around again and walk to me again, even though it was most likely he would since so far I was only seeing the past, nothing new.

"Dylan!" I pleaded, yelling as loud as my teary voice would allow. I was crying again... If Papa saw me now... what would he say? I'm crying and pleading my crush... a boy... to come to my rescue. I was such a shame to my Italian family... and then I cried harder. The current me, watching the situation, in no danger, stood there and started crying all over again like a little girl. Oh what Papa would have said...

"Dylan!" I yelled again, my voice straining and more tears falling down my cheeks. This time I knew he heard me. He had stopped skimming the forest and closed his eyes, trying to listen again.

"DYLAN!" I cried, my lungs fully collapsing. Then he said it. My words had not been wasted. He _had_ heard me. He opened his eyes, and said the word yet again, as if inevitable...

"No."

Everyone else turned and I could see their confused glances they exchanged between each other. "What's wrong?" Hazel asked, looking at Dylan intently for an answer.

It was dejavu. Everything was the exact same. The tighten the man held on the gun, still holding it firmly against my back. Dylan's confused look and the next sentence he said confidently...

_No. He's here," Dylan said, as if he could feel me right next to him. He said it with such confidence I wasn't sure if he did actually meet eyes with me or not._

_"Dylan how do you know? I mean... you can't have seen him, right? Do you know where he is?"_

_"He's in the forest," Dylan repeated, sounding 100 sure. He moved closer towards me._

"Yes," I whispered, a small smile breaking out onto my tear streaked face. "Thankyou, Dylan, thankyou." I thought about it deeply... if he hadn't came towards me then, I might have changed my mind about rolling to the side and dodging the bullet, therefore lying as a cadaver forever in the forest, my memory a dead end. Nothing would have peiced together, had it not been for Dylan.

And I knew, right then, why I had been so confident in dying with Dylan's face as my last memory. He was the only one who understood me, the only one who really cared, the only one who _really_ loved me. To hear me, sense me, know I was in the forest when all my other friends had lost hope... to hear a _memory_ of me plead him to save me... that was love. And that was why I loved him, too. He was a part of me.

I watched it all happen again, the gun dig into my back again, the man whisper more words into my ear, Dylan and Paige yell for me to stop playing a joke...

And then I did it... I watched the other me scream and roll to the other side of the tree, and I saw the bullet go flying out of the gun. I was right... it had hit flesh. I gasped as I watched both Dylan and I collapse, one of us with fear from the other being shot, and the other going unconcious because of a bullet slicing through his skin.

And then I woke up.

--

A/N: Hey... haha cliffhanger, I know. Muhahaha. Review, and be a kind little person. Sorry if it sucks, I don't feel like reading it through again.


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